Initially, the showrunnersconsidered recasting the role of Eric, but that idea was abandoned in favor of introducing an entirely new character:Randy Pearson, played by Josh Meyers, who quickly became Donna's new love interest with Eric out of the picture. Before turning towards a career in acting, he started off as a professional model. Most people who have worked in some form of media production, know that staging the frame of a shot can be very important to the scene. Topher Grace on Recapturing the Magic of That '70s Show With Home Economics Topher Grace hasn't starred in a network comedy in more than 15 years, but he has high hopes for his big return. The props specialist soon agreed, allowing Valderrama to purchase the car for $500. It was really nostalgic to be back on the set, he told the outlet. The show's producers did as well. Every time the theme song aired, the co-writer of the song, Big Star singer Alex Chilton, got $70. In March 2006, Valderrama was a guest on Howard Stern's radio show (via theDaily Beast and ThoughtCo) and actually did what Stern always wants his guests to do: talk about sex. However, Leo later abruptly disappears from "That '70s Show" during the fifth and sixth seasons, though his absence is addressed by Eric and his friends in Season 5's "The Battle of Evermore." By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. It depicts her as less laid-back than her friends and sometimes makes it seem like she has the mother yelling at her kids tone of voice. Michael Christopher Kelso is a fictional character and one of the four male leads on Fox Network's That '70s Show, portrayed by Ashton Kutcher. Set in 1984, the series focuses on a group of friends in their twenties living and working in San Diego. By the time she hit 14-years old, she was auditioning for the role of Jackie Burkhart on That '70s Show. As they scrambled to try and find a way to carry the show onwards, they introduced a new character,Charlie Schmidt,near the end of Season 7. It's actually ironic that the amount is $70. The show tackled problems that are universal to teens of any decade: relationship drama, issues with school, difficult domestic situations, and so forth. The spinoff of "That '70s Show" hit Netflix on Jan. 19, bringing back a few familiar faces, too. Most of us Laura, Ashton and I smoked cigarettes at the time," said Masterson. When it first aired in the summer of 1998, "That '70s Show" quickly became one of the most successful and popular sitcoms of its day, nabbing a total of 16 Primetime Emmy Award nominations during its eight-seasons on the air from 1998 to 2007. Creators Mark Brazill Bonnie Turner Terry Turner Stars Topher Grace Laura Prepon Mila Kunis See production, box office & company info Watch on Peacock S1-8 with subscription More watch options Add to Watchlist Added by 115K users This would continue until the very final episode of the series, with Randy only appearing in one brief scene in the finale of "That '70s Show. She's been in movies like "Bad Moms," "Friends With Benefits" and "Luckiest Girl Alive" and has voiced Meg Griffin in "Family Guy" since 1999. These days, in an age of content oversaturation . Fox wouldn't allow That '70s Show to directly show the use of marijuana on their network. The first season of the show features a modified cover version of the song performed by Todd Griffin, lead singer of the 1990s band Graveyard Train, with additional lyrics contributed by composer Ben Vaughn. You may be surprised to know that the actor of Dennis Reynolds from Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia played the lead of That 80s Show, Corey Howard. During its lengthy run, the cast tried to keep its darkest secrets hidden, but the shady truth about the period sitcom has gradually emerged. One of the biggest breakout characters of "That '70s Show" was the strict, surly, no-nonsense patriarch of the Forman household, Red. The character was played by Tommy Chong, who seemed to float effortlessly between his on-screen and off-screen personas. The show ran for eight seasons, starting in 1998 and ending in 2006 (in real life). 1972/1973 Members First Generation: Eric Forman Steven Hyde Michael Kelso Fez Donna Pinciotti Jackie Burkhart Kitty Forman (kitchen) Red Forman (kitchen) Second Generation: Leia Forman Gwen Runck Jay Kelso Nate Runck Nikki Ozzie Visitors It was great. "I had lost a baby. Laura Prepon, 42, played Donna Pinciotti in "That '70s Show" and went on to star in the blockbuster Netflix show Orange Is The New Black. Not only is she reprising her role the spinoff, but shes also directing some episodes. They formed a boys crew during the heyday of That 70s Show, without Grace. No, were not crying - you are! According toa Hollywood Reporter analysisof networks for 2005 through 2006, the last season ofThat '70s Showwas moved to 8PM on Thursdays, opposite hits likeSurvivor, Dancing with the Stars,andWill and Grace. Stark told Entertainment Weekly last month that there was initially a debate over whether his character would have a place in the spinoff. After Eric Forman and Michael Kelso left Point Place, their friend group became a little less lively. True Hollywood story that she left the showin 2001 because herhusband, screenwriter Barry Roberts, was terminally ill. Roberts did return for a few episodes late in the show's run. After Chong served his time, the producers of "That '70s Show" invited him to return to the show, and Leo re-emerged in Point Place in Season 7's "Down the Road Apiece." As the Los Angeles Police Department investigated the allegations, Netflex announced therelease dateof Season 4 ofThe Ranch,which stars Masterson and fellow '70s co-star Ashton Kutcher. Few cars are as iconic in the realm of 2000s sitcoms as Eric's Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, the station wagon gifted to him by Red that serves as the main means of transportation for Eric and his friends throughout "That '70s Show." Over half were male and in their 60s and 70s. He becomes the subject of a Season 5 manhunt that produces only a good-bye note and eventually turns up near the end of Season 7. I was convinced I was going to get fired. That '70s Show is a great TV show to watch from the late 90s and early 2000s. You're the kids. But I didnt tell them when I was going to be 18!, One of the most well-known aspects of That '70s Show (along with the era of the seventies itself) was the reoccurring stoner circle scene (like the video above). Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. The producers found their way around this by using a filming technique to shoot the characters in a circle to imitate the passing of the said blunt. It eventually became a staple of the show. Ashton Kutcher started a film career, landing early roles in movies likeThe Butterfly EffectandGuess Who. In order to sell these scenes, the production team whipped together dense smoke drifting in the background to suggest the characters' marijuana use. After this episode, Kelso was absent from the remainder of the season, only returning for the finale. It's been 22 years since the That '70s Show the series that captured all of the awkward awesomeness, fashion statements (or crimes), and social progression of life in the 1970's first premiered on Fox. It's impossible to know how many more seasonsThat '70s Showmight have lasted with Grace and Kutcher in the cast, but Randy's introduction proved the series was quickly running out of gas and needed to be canceled. Described in the show as tall, lanky and long-haired, Kelso was considered a simple-minded person until he moved to Chicago in the eighth season. Running for eight seasons, you can enjoy the show being a modern day teen or as someone who grew up as a teenager during the '70s. Most of us Laura, Ashton, and I smoked cigarettes at the time. Romantic squabbles, high school anxieties, and various misadventures . More often than not, you'd probably end up with a lot of giggling and some crumbs between the cushions of your couch but you might also get a pretty decent sitcom. However, all good things must come to an end, including That '70s Show. This has never been elaborated on by the showrunners or Wilmer Valderrama. Mila and I were contemplating it, Kutcher said. If it hadn't been canceled and had gone on to a ninth or tenth season, other stories might have been told butit's also very likely thatitwould have overstayed its welcome more than it already had. Even beforeThat '70s Showwas canceled, it had clearly stopped being appointment TV for its audience. While on the show, fellow cast member Wilmer Valderrama taught her how to drive, Danny Masterson was Kunis' prom date, and Ashton Kutcher was her first kiss (viaPopSugar). "I was so nervous when I was [hired for] 'That '70s Show.' That '70s Show became a huge hit, mixing the standard teen coming-of-age sitcom with the trappings of Middle America in '70s. Grace hasclaimed there's no bad blood between him and the rest of the cast, but he was not a part of thecast reunion on the set of The Ranch in 2016, and he did not attendKunis and Kutcher's wedding. As a result of that I lost it. memorable running gags on "That '70s Show. At the end of season seven, Topher Graces character (Eric) left Point Place, Wisconsin in efforts to get a fully paid tuition after completing a year of teaching in Africa. Their second child, a boy named Dimitri was born in November 2016. All good things have to come to an end at some point, and for That 70s Show, the ending came at 11:59 P.M. on December 31st, 1979. Netflix eventually changed course,terminatingMasterson's contract onThe Ranch. That '70s Show is an American television period teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. Masterson was reportedly "very disappointed" about the decision and said in a statement: "Law enforcement investigated these claims more than 15 years ago and determined them to be without merit. And now they're married with kids! The camera needs to see all actors perfectly. In 1998, Fox and creators Mark Brazill and Terry and Bonnie Turner sent TV viewers back two decades to a small Wisconsin town in the mid-70s. Kunis toldPeople that in order to nab the role of Jackie Burkhart on the show at age 14, she pretended to be a good bit older than she really was. In an ironic twist, Kunis and Kutcher got married some years after "That '70s Show" came to a conclusion. Leo is one of the shows most prominent fan favorite characters (as minor as he may be). And theyre like Well, thats too weird for audiences, so now you and Ashton are together, and I was like, Thats even weirder, she said. Similar to Smith, Debra Jo Rupp , 71, is an executive producer and a recurring character, once again playing Kitty Forman. Because that's what everyone is going to end up calling it anyway. Kunis recalls seeing Kutcher from the back, They Tried To Make 'That 80s Show' - And Failed HARD, All good things have to come to an end at some point, and for, Melissa Rauch Got Emotional During The Night Court Pilot When She Was Surprised By Her Former Big Bang Theory Colleagues On-Set, Cooper Hefner Knows The Exact Moment His Dad Hugh Stopped Being Friends With Donald Trump, Despite The Age Gap, Joel Madden And Hilary Duff Don't Have Any Regrets About Their Relationship. The actor struggled to . We all looked at her and said, 'You're right.'". For more information, please see our She posted about her excitement on Instagram last month. Due to their young age, many of them had never had prominent roles in television or film before. Humorously, the specific amount of money Chilton received through his royalties was a hilariously coincidental amount. Owing to the show's abysmally poor ratings, "That '80s Show" was cancelled after one season on Fox. While the parents on most teen-oriented shows are completely inconsequential to the plot (We're looking at you, Jim and Cindy Walsh from Beverly Hills, 90210), the writers ofThat '70s Showadeptly used the show's adults to add a streak of '70s realism to the series. It seems like a lot of the depictions of being very high are drawn from writers being very drunk. I'd be like if they were rerunning your high school year book all the time. (She later responded inElle, calling his claim "utterly tacky, not even true, and it hurt my feelings because I like him."). Nowadays, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is something of a big screen powerhouse with flicks such asInception, The Dark Knight Rises, and Looper under his belt, but in the late '90s, he was still just a former child star whose biggest claim to fame was playing an ancient alien on 3rd Rock from the Sun. Running for eight seasons, you can enjoy the show being a modern day teen or as someone who grew up as a teenager during the '70s. By casting someone as hyper-masculine as Norris, the producers hoped to establish a clear contrast between the macho Norris and his onscreen son, a bookish nerd who held zero interest in conventionally masculine activities. Ashton Kutcher switched to a reoccurring guest role to slowly phase his character out - also to pursue his career further. They're kind of grown up but they did this for us too. Buddy has a secret crush on his buddy and shares a kiss with him before Eric turns him down. Kelly later explained her departure to ABC News. Though plenty of positive things can certainly be said about the writing for Red, the main attribute that made the character so fun to watch was the portrayal by Kurtwood Smith. According to executive producer Mark Hudis,ending the series on the final day of the titular decade was no coincidence; as he put it, "We thought we'd just wrap up the '70s while we wrap up the series.". If this gets confusing, check Erics vista cruiser license plate in the opening credits - it always notes what year the episode is taking place. In one of the thousands of tangential asides, he described telling a . The actress of Laurie was replaced by actress Christina Moore in season six, but she never quite captured Laurie the same way that Kelly did. This often was a dilemma on the set of That '70s Show when Mila Kunis and Laura Prepon were in a scene together. It was a clever way to appease the censors, and soon became one of the most memorable running gags on "That '70s Show." Good thing platforms were stylish during the seventies! The show went on for another eight years before wrapping up in 2006. It is blocked out though, due to a loud noise overpowering his voice. According to the cast policy of the show, all actors had to be 18 when they auditioned for their parts. Kelly was extremely effected by the loss, telling ABC News as a result of that - I lost it. By the timeThat '70s Showconcluded its eighth and final season, many character arcs had reached their natural conclusions, leaving less potential for interesting stories should the series have continued. The main teenage cast members were Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Laura Prepon, Wilmer . Between the show's first and seventh season, audience scores never dropped below 60 percent, the eighth season took a massive dive, dropping all the way to 23 percent. The role jumpstarted Kunis' career and served as an important milestone in her personal life. Hes older now, hes retired, Smith, who is also one of the executive producers, said. We can explain: Karo alleged that Kunis stole her prized pet chicken, Doggie, while they were both living in the Ukraine. Unfortunately, fans' reception to Randy's character was mixed at best, and Meyers was gradually given less prominent screen time as the season progressed. Topher Grace was one such actor, having had absolutely zero professional acting experience before joining "That '70s Show." The show stars Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart, Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti, and Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso. During the filming of the series, Chong even had to miss several seasons to serve jail time for drug paraphernalia. I just cried for like a week. In January of 2014, Kunis was spotted wearing an engagement ring, and soon after in March of the same year, the couple announced they were pregnant with their first child. Dark Secrets The Cast Of That '70s Show Tried To Hide. The name Point Place doesn't have any Wisconsin . Kunis really wanted the role, so she didnt exactly say she was a minor. Kitty and Red Give Eric the Talk. For obvious reasons, the producers of "That '70s Show" struggled at first to figure out a way to replace Eric following Topher Grace's departure. Grace wasnt the only actor to dip out early, though. That '70s Show provided us with one of the last batches of them: Kutcher and Kunis, along with Grace and Prepon, were obvious screen-stealing stars from the get-go. Actress Laura Prepon, who plays Eric's long-time love interest on the show, echoed the kiss diss when she said on a radio show (via TMZ) that her Orange is the New Black co-star, Taylor Schilling, gave better lip service than Grace. Most of the main cast members continue to act and appeared on Netflix's spin-off series, " That '90s Show ." 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